Friday, October 31, 2008

Couple of links

There's a couple of stories out there that I'm sure you guys will like to read.

First one is about 1st round draft pick in the 2008 draft, John Carlson and the London Knights. Here's one part of the article.

"The Knights don't have anyone on their blue-line who can match the 17-year-old Ellis' individual offensive prowess. But together, they have something pretty dangerous too. Plus they have Carlson, the Washington first-rounder who is an early candidate as the league's best all-around defender, especially with Drew Doughty in Los Angeles and Alex Pietrangelo still with St. Louis.

But the Knights know they have to be careful with Carlson, currently logging about 30 minutes of ice per game. He hasn't gone through the grind of a 68-game season before, plus playoffs."

The other article I've got for you today is Alexander Semin's interview.
Here's a little bit from the article.

"What's so special about [Crosby]? I don't see anything special there. Yes, he does skate well, has a good head, good pass. But there's nothing else. Even if you compare him to Patrick Kane from Chicago ... [Kane] is a much more interesting player. The way he moves, his deking abilities, his thinking on the ice and his anticipation of the play is so superb."

Check out the article. It's pretty good. TSN has got a hold of the story now.



Ok now that I've got that out of the way, here's what's actually happening on the ice.

Tom Poti has practiced the past 2 days and is ready to go for Saturday's game against Buffalo. Poti was paired with Schultz in practice and Boudreau expects Poti to log a lot of ice time. With Poti healthy, Tyler Sloan was sent back down to Hershey. Alex Ovechkin will miss his 2nd straight game due to his sick grandfather, but Ovechkin is scheduled to be practicing with the team on Monday.

Laich-Backstrom-Kozlov
Steckel-Fedorov-Semin
Flash-Nylander-Clark
Brashear-Gordon-Bradley

Green-Morrisonn
Poti-Schultz
Jurcina-Erskine

It sounds like Theodore will get the start in goal. I'll have a full game preview tomorrow.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Caps beat Preds 4-3 in the Shoot-out.

Since the game wasn't on T.V. I don't have much to say, so I'll just say the stats. Viktor Kozlov scored the first goal of the game. David Steckel scored the Caps 2nd goal, a short-handed goal from a pass from Semin. Then in the 3rd period Semin scored on the PP, from a pass from Backstrom. The game went to a shoot-out and Nylander and Semin scored the shoot-out.

That's about it. Nobody got to watch the game, expect the people at the game, so sorry for the crappy write-up.

10-28-08 Washington Capitals vs. Nashville Predators, 7:30 p.m.

Washington Capitals

Record-4-3-1

The Caps enter this game coming off of a 6-5 OT win over the Dallas Stars. The big news for this game against Nashville is that reigning MVP Alex Ovechkin won't be in the line-up. Ovechkin is back in Russia to visit his ill grandfather. With Ovechkin out, it's Alexander Semin's chance to show he can score with other teams top defenceman playing against him. The Caps are going to need Semin to keep up the scoring pace with Ovechkin out. It will also be interesting to see how Nicklas Backstrom performs with out Ovechkin. This is Ovechkin's 2nd game he'll have missed in his 4 year career.

Nashville Predators

Record-4-4

The Nashville Predators are coming off of a 5-4 win over the Los Angels Kings. The last time the Kings visited Verizon Center was Dec. 7, 2005. The Preds won that contest, 5-2. The Caps and Preds are different teams then that last meeting, so it should be an interesting game. The Preds will be without Russian superstar Alexander Radulov this game, and maybe for forever. Radulov bolted to Russia this offseason when the KHL started up. The problem is that Radulov was still under contract with the Predators.


Washington's top 3 goals

1. Alexander Semin-7 goals
2. Mike Green-4 goals
3. Sergei Fedorov-3 goals

Washington's top 3 assists
1. Alexander Semin-7 assist
2. Michael Nylander-6 assist
3. Sergei Fedorov-4 assist


Washington's top 3 points

1. Alexander Semin-14 points
2. Michael Nylander-8 points
3. Sergei Fedorov- 7 point

Washington Capitals line-up

Brooks Laich(21) - Nicklas Backstrom(19) - Viktor Kozlov(25)
David Steckel(39) - Sergei Fedorov(91) - Alex Semin(28)
Tomas Fleischman(14) - Michael Nylander(92) - Chris Clark(17)
Donald Brashear(87) - Boyd Gordon(15) - Matt Bradley(10)

Shaone Morrisonn(26) - Mike Green(52)
Tyler Sloan(89) - Jeff Schultz(55)
John Erskine(4) - Milan Jurcina(23)

Brent Johnson(1)
Jose Theodore(60)

Players to watch- Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom

Nashville Predators line-up

27-Hornqvist, 19-Arnott, 71-Dumont
28-Jones, 11-Legwand, 10-Erat
29-Ward, 14-Bonk, 25-Smithson
22-Tootoo, 12-Nichol, 74-Tarnasky

6-Weber, 20-Suter
2-Hamhuis, 7-de Vries
4-Koistinen, 5-Zanon

35-Rinne
39-Ellis

Players to watch- Martin Erat, Shea Weber

Key to Caps victory

The Caps defence needs to be a little better then they were against Dallas. The offence seems to be on track, but the defence needs to step up without Tom Poti. Poti is the veteran, and this defence needs to play good without him. The key to playing good defence is to not take penalty's. The Caps aren't good at all on the PK, 78% is one of the worst in the league. So stay out the box, and clear the puck out the zone.

Versus sucks

The game will not be shown on T.V. at all because Versus holds the rights to the game, but they aren't showing it. They choose to show the Philly, Atlanta game. Here's a link to e-mail Versus.

feedback@versus.com










Monday, October 27, 2008

Ovechkin back in Russia; Will be Tuesday night's game

Alex Ovechkin will miss Tuesday night's game accoriding to the Washington Capitals website.

Ovechkin is back in Russia to be with his ill Grandfather. This will be the 2nd game that Ovechkin will not be playing. The previous game he missed was in his rookie year. He was held out of that game because of a groin strain. It's gonna be tough for the Caps without Ovechkin, but he's always put his family first.

I'm going to guess at what the lines would look like without Ovie.

Semin-Fedorov-Kozlov
Laich-Backstrom-Fehr
Flash-Nylander-Clark
Brashear-Gordon-Bradley

That's it for now, I'll post updates when I get them.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Sorry guys

I'm sorry guys, for not updating in a while. I've been on vacation, and I've had hockey, but I'm back now and ready to get going again.

Just in case you guys don't know, the Caps are 4-3-1 now.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

10-16-08 Washington Capitals at. Pittsburgh Penguins, 7:30 p.m.


Washington Capitals

Record-2-1

The Caps are coming off of one of the most impressive wins in franchise history. They held the Vancouver Canucks to 10 shots, breaking the previous record of 11. The Caps have rebounded well after an embarrassing loss to the Atlanta Thrashers in the opening game of the season. Pittsburgh will be the first team the Caps face this year that made it to the playoffs last year, so this is the true test. The Caps have also lost 10 of the last 12 facing Pittsburgh, so you know the players want to beat this team. One problem for the Caps is that they will be without Viktor Kozlov for the next couple of weeks, and Donald Brashear may not play tonite. Pittsburgh could be trouble if Brashear is out, because Pittsburgh has both Matt Cooke, and Eric Godard.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Record-2-1-1

Pittsburgh is coming off of a 3-2 OT win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh may have a winning record, but to my eyes they haven't looked as good as they can be. They don't look like they are clicking yet. Hopefully they don't play to their potential tonite. Pittsburgh's superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined total of 4 points this year. That's not up to their standards, but you know they are always dangerous and you know that they will be ready to play tonite. The Penguins defence is an area of suspect early on in the season. With Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar out with injury's the Pittsburgh defence is a big are of concern.


Washington's top 3 goals

1. Mike Green-3 goals
2. Alexander Semin-3 goals
3. Alexander Ovechkin-2 goals

Washington's top 3 assists
1. Alexander Semin-3 assist
2. Michael Nylander-3 assist
3. Mike Green-2 assist


Washington's top 3 points

1. Alexander Semin-6 points
2. Mike Green-5 points
3. Michael Nylander- 4 point
Washington Capitals line-up

Alex Ovechkin(8) - Nicklas Backstrom(19) - Chris Clark(17)
Brooks Laich(21) - Michael Nylander(92) - Alex Semin(28)
Tomas Fleischman(14) - Sergei Fedorov(91) - Eric Fehr(16)
David Steckel(39) - Boyd Gordon(15) - Matt Bradley(10)

Shaone Morrisonn(26) - Mike Green(52)
Tom Poti(3) - Jeff Schultz(55)
John Erskine(4) - Milan Jurcina(23)

Jose Theodore(60)
Brent Johnson(1)

Players to watch: Brooks Laich, Alex Ovechkin


Pittsburgh Penguins line-up

Pascal Dupuis(9) - Sidney Crosby(87) - Miroslav Satan(81)
Jordan Staal(11) - Evgeni Malkin(71) - Petr Sykora(17)
Ruslan Fedotenko(26) - Max Talbot(25) - Tyler Kennedy(48)
Matt Cooke(24) - Michael Zigomanis(15) - Eric Godard(28)

Brooks Orpik(44) - Kris Letang(58)
Hal Gill(2) - Rob Scuderi(4)
Mark Eaton(7) - Alex Goligoski(13)

Marc-Andre Fleury(29)
Dany Sabourin(30)

Players to watch: Pascal Dupuis, Tyler Kennedy


Key to Caps victory


Do whatever you did against Vancouver. The Caps are going to have to control the game. We are going to have to have the puck for 65% of the time. I expect the 2nd line to have a big night, and to be a puck-possession line. I've said this in every game before, and I'll say it again. Stay out of the penalty box. The Caps PK right now is at 78%, that's not good at all. So stay out the box and it won't be a problem. Crosby and Malkin are to good of players to give them an advantage.

Prediction- 6-4 Caps win.


Highlights from last years game



Fights





Get pumped up

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Wednesday practice

As most of you know, the Caps beat Vancouver 5-1 Monday night. Sorry for not having a post-game write-up, it won't happen again.

So...In Monday night's game, Viktor Kozlov, and Donald Brashear both suffered injury's. Brashear has a hurt hand, and is day-to-day. Boudreau didn't say if he will play Thursday against the Penguins. Kozlov's injury seems more serious. GM George Mcphee has said that Kozlov will be out for "a couple of weeks." It looks like Kozlov hurt his left knee during the game. With those two out, here's what the lines looked like in practice.

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Clark
Laich-Nylander-Semin
Fleischman-Fedorov-Fehr
Steckel-Gordon-Bradley

Boudreau has said that Fedorov will play defence against the Penguins, and he has said that Jose Theodore will start.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

10-13-08 Washington Capitals vs. Vancouver Canucks, 7:00 P.M.

Washington Capitals

Record-1-1

The Caps won their first game of the year Saturday night against Chicago. The Caps offence has looked pretty good, but facing a great goalie in Luongo is going to be tough. The Caps defensively have given up 9 goals in the first 2 games, they can't play bad defence against Vancouver. Alexander Semin has been the best player so far this season. Ovechkin showed why he is the best player in the game with 2 goals against Chicago. I think the Caps 3rd line of Fleischman-Nylander-Clark is going to have to have score a goal for the Caps to win.

Vancouver Canucks

Record-2-0

Vancouver faced the Calgary flames in their first 2 games of the year, and they won the first game 6-0, and the 2nd game 5-4 in OT. Usually the Canucks are solid defensively and don't score a lot of goals, but the first two games shows that they can put the puck in the back of the net. Vancouver's offence is lead by the Sedin's twins, Vancouver doesn't have Markus Naslund on the team anymore, so the Sedin's are going to have to step up even more.

Washington's top 3 goals

1. Mike Green-2 goals
2. Alexander Ovechkin-2 goal
3. Alexander Semin-1 goal

Washington's top 3 assists
1. Alexander Semin-3 assist
2. Tom Poti-2 assist
3. Mike Green-1 assist


Washington's top 3 points

1. Alexander Semin-4 points
2. Mike Green-3 points
3. Alex Ovechkin- 2 point

Washington Capitals line-up

Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Viktor Kozlov
Brooks Laich - Michael Nylander - Alexander Semin
Tomas Fleischman - Boyd Gordon - Chris Clark
Donald Brashear - David Steckel - Matt Bradley


Shaone Morrisonn - Mike Green
Tom Poti - Jeff Schultz
Milan Jurcina - Sergei Fedorov


Jose Theodore
Brent Johnson

Players to watch-Tomas Fleischman, Viktor Kozlov

Vancouver Canucks line-up

Sedin-Sedin-Bernier
Raymond-Demitra-Pyatt
Burrows-Kesler-Hansen
Hordichuk-Johnson-Rypien

Ohlund-Edler
Mitchell-Bieksa
Salo-O'Brien

Luongo
Sanford


Players to Watch-Steve Bernier, Taylor Pyatt

Key to Caps victory

Stay out of the penalty box. We can't afford to take penalty's the way we have the past 2 games. Keep your sticks on the ice, and keep the checks clean. No need to put ourselves a man down. The Caps defence also has to step up again. Vancouver is surprisingly putting up a lot of goals, so the defence needs to be tight, and clear out Theodore's rebounds. If the Caps give up 2 or less goals, they will win.

Prediction-3-2 Caps OT.

Last meeting between teams



Rock the Red



Cool highlights



Let's go Caps song

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Caps beat the Blackhawks 4-2.

The Washington Capitals got their first win in the 08-09 season, by beating the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2. Things didn't start off good for the Caps, or Jose Theodore. Theodore let in a goal on the very first shot he faced, 26 seconds into the game. Things looked like they were going to be ugly, and it didn't get better. Jose gave up another goal before the end of the 1st period, and Chicago was winning 2-0. Theodore settled down, and Matt Bradley scored late in the first period on a nice pass from David Steckel. Going into the 2nd period it was 2-1. MVP Alex Ovechkin scored 5 mintues into the 2nd period, it stayed that way until the 3rd period, when Brookd Laich scored a goal. Laich scored on a scramble play infront of the net. Ovechkin sealed the deal with a goal with 1:30 left in the 3rd period. That's how it ended 4-2.

I thought the Caps offence was great again. Every line was playing really good. The Brashear-Steckel-Bradley line was great on the forecheck, and was probably the best line of the game. Fleischman also showed his skills with a couple of nice dangle's. I didn't really notice Backstrom, so I hope he picks his play up. Fedorov is such a veteran. Everything is calm when he has the puck. I thought the defence was shaky in the first period, but they settled down in the last 2 periods. Jose Theodore also was shaky in the first, but played very, very well in the final 2 periods.

Here's the Caps post-game coverage, and he's the stat page.

10-11-08 Washington vs. Chicago, 7:00 p.m. Home opener

Washington's record-0-1 Chicago's record-0-1


Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals started the season off on the wrong foot, with a 7-4 loss to the Atlanta Thrashers. The Caps offence looked good scoring 4 goals, and 2 of them on the power play, but Washington's defence and goaltending was, to say the least, terrible. Atlanta scored 3 power play goals on 9 chances. Bruce Boudreau wasn't happy with anybody's performence last night. Hopefully Washington gets back to playing they way they did at the end of last year. Jose Theodore is expected to get the start in goal tonite. The game is sold-out and the crowd will be rocking the red. This should be a huge boost for the Caps tonite.


Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago started off the 08-09 season with a loss to the New York Rangers. Christobal Huet gave up 4 goals on 29 shots. Chicago did score 2 goals last night. The Blackhawks were 0-3 on the power play last night, and killed off all 3 off New York's power play chances. Chicago is a very young team this year, but they are really talented. They are a lot like the Caps from last year. I don't know who will start in goal for Chicago tonite


Washington's top 3 goals

1. Mike Green-2 goals
2. Alexander Semin-1 goal
3. David Steckel-1 goal

Washington's top 3 assists
1. Alexander Semin-2 assist
2. Mike Green-1 assist
3. Sergei Fedorov-1 assist


Washington's top 3 points

1. Mike Green-3 points
2. Alexander Semin-3 points
3. David Steckel- 1 point


Washington Capitals line-up

Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Viktor Kozlov
Brooks Laich - Sergei Fedorov - Alexander Semin
Tomas Fleischman - Michael Nylander - Chris Clark
David Steckel - Boyd Gordon - Matt Bradley


Shaone Morrisonn - Mike Green
Tom Poti - Milan Jurcina
Jeff Schultz - John Erskine


Jose Theodore
Brent Johnson

Players to watch- Jose Theodre, Alexander Semin

Chicago Blackhawks line-up

Andrew Ladd - Jonathan Toews - Martin Havlat
Patrick Kane - Patrick Sharp - Dustin Byfuglien
Kris Versteeg - Dave Bolland - Jack Skille
Adam Burish -Colin Fraser - Craig Adams


Niklas Hjalmarsson - Brian Campbell
Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook
Brent Sopel - Jordan Hendry


Christobal Huet
Nikolai Khabibulin


Players to watch-Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp


Key to Caps victory


The defence has to be better. So does the goaltending. The Caps can't score 7 goals a game, the defence has to step up and make some defensive plays. Erskine and Jurcina need to be more physical and Green needs to not be lost in the defensive zone. We also can't take 9 penalty's like last night. That's unacceptable. I'd also like to see Alex Ovechkin get on the board and score a goal.

ROCK THE RED








Friday, October 10, 2008

Caps lose 7-4

The Thrashers won the opening game of the year 7-4. Atlanta scored 3 straigh goals to make it 3-0 early in the 1st period. Semin scored for Washington to make it 3-1. The Thrashers and Caps both exchanged goals and it was 4-2 with Steckel getting a short-handed goal. Then Mike Green scored 2 goals late in the 2nd period to make it 4-4. Going into the 3rd period it looked like the Caps had the momentum, but Atlanta scored 3 goals in the 3rd period to finish the game.

Jose Theodore was pulled after Atlanta's 4th goal. The Caps outshot the Thrashers by 10 shots, but Kari Lehtonen was great tonite. The Caps goalie's looked shaky all-night long, giving up soft goals. Towards the end of the game, it got a little rough. Erskine, Brashear, and Bradley all got into fights.

Here's the stat sheet from tonite's game.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

10-10-08 Washington Capitals at. Atlanta Thrashers

Washington's preseason record-5-1-1 Atlanta's preseason record-1-5

Washington Capitals

Washington dominated the preseason play this year, with a 5-1-1 record. The Caps defence was ranked 2nd in the preseason, only behind Detroit. Jose Theodore played 2 full games, and stopped 40 shots in the final game of the preseason. Overall the Caps looked pretty sharp. The biggest issue coming into this season is Jose Theodore. He's a huge question mark. Can he continue his strong play from last year? or will he play terrible like in 05-06? The Caps are hoping he can be a steady goaltender who can get the job done. Theodore won't have to win that many games by himself for the Caps this year. The offence will do that. Another question is, can the Caps continue there winning ways from the end of last year.

Atlanta Thrashers

Obviously by looking at Atlanta's record, you can tell that they didn't do to well in the preseason. 1-5 is never any good. It's really not good, when you have a new head coach. Atlanta's new head coach is John Anderson. John Anderson and Bruce Boudreau are best friends. They've know each other since they were 14 years old. Anderson is the god-father of Boudreau's youngest son. Anderson isn't the only new face in Atlanta this year. Atlanta added free agents Ron Hainsey, and Jason Williams. These new players will have an impact but Atlanta didn't adress their biggest need, which is a top line center for Kovalchuk. Atlanta also added Mathieu Schneider from Anaheim. Atlanta added offence on their blue-line, but they are still very weak defensively.

Washington Capitals line-up

Alex Ovechkin "A" - Nicklas Backstrom - Viktor Kozlov
Brooks Laich - Segei Fedorov "A" - Alexander Semin
Tomas Fleischman - Michael Nylander - Chris Clark "C"
Donald Brashear - David Steckel - Matt Bradley

Shaone Morrisonn - Mike Green
Tom Poti - John Erskine
Jeff Schultz - Milan Jurcina

Jose Theodore
Brent Johnson

Players to Watch-Alex Ovechkin, and Chris Clark

Atlanta Thrashers line-up


Ilay Kovalchuk - Todd White - Jason Williams
Slava Kozlov - Eric Christanson - Colby Armstrong
Eric Perrin - Marty Reasoner - Brett Sterling
Eric Boulton - Jim Slater - Chris Thorburn

Nicklas Havelid -Tobias Enstrom
Garnet Exelby - RonHainsey
Zach Bogosian - Matheui Schneider

Kari Lehtonen
Johan Hedberg

Players to Watch-Ilay Kovalchuk, Zach Bogosian

Key to Caps victory

I think the Caps have to attack the Thrashers defenceman. Atlanta's defenceman aren't great defensively, so the Caps will have to put pressure on them and forecheck and create turn-overs. Also games in the past have gotten rough, and the Caps need to stay out of the penalty box. A team with Kovalchuk is always deadly on the Power Play.

Video's

Caps-Thrashers brawl



Highlights from last meeting



Unleash the Fury



Caps season highlights



Is this the year?

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Caps team photo

Here's the video from the Caps website.



Something to note from that video is, that Chris Clark has the "C" again(no surprise). Ovechkin has an "A", and the other "A" belongs to Sergei Fedorov. Last year Brashear wore the 3rd "A", but Fedorov gets it this year.

Also, here's a quote from Laich about why Clark is the captain.

"I think it is undisputed that Alex is the face of the Washington Capitals and a leader on this hockey team. Chris Clark is a veteran that has been around and knows how to handle a hockey team and how to be a leader. Alex is a superstar. We all know that, but [Clark] has a great relationship – as does Alex – with all of the players. [Clark] has a bit more of a calming presence and we missed him last year. We missed him dearly. I don’t think either of those guys are worried about titles and who has the ‘A’ or who has the ‘C.’ Those guys are both leaders and they just want to win."

Collin McKinney's story

Onfrozenblog has a great story about Caps fan Colin Mckinney. He's one of the biggest caps fans, and I suggest you check the story out. Part 1 Part 2. It's a really good story.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Bourque, Alzner and Laing sent to Hershey

I'm pretty upset that Bourque and Alzner didn't make the team because wavier status, and money. The Caps are trying to win the Stanley Cup this year. Alzner was one of the best 6 defenceman in camp, so he should have a spot on the team. Bourque out-performed a lot of the forwards, and he proved he can be a good NHL player. With that said, here's you 2008-2009 Washington Capitals.

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov
Laich-Fedorov-Semin
Fleischman-Nylander-Clark
Brashear-Steckel-Bradley
Fehr, Gordon

Morrisonn-Green
Poti-Jurcina
Erskine-Schultz

Theodore
Johnson

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Boudreau's new job.

Yeah...Boudreau should stick to coaching the Caps.



Looks like his 3 second role in Slapshot didn't help his acting. Seriously Bruce, leave the acting to Ovechkin.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Caps win 4-1.

1st preseason game of the year, and the Caps beat Carolina 4-1. Fleischman with 2 goals, Bradley with 1 goal, Kozlov with 3 assist.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Training camp starts today.

I'll be posting updates all day long. The only news I have right now is that Backstrom skated this morning and went through some drills. He was wearing a different colored jersey then everybody else. Yesterday Boudreau said that Backstrom wasn't going to skate, but I guess his ankle was feeling good. Backstrom only skated for about 30 minutes before he left the ice. I don't know if Caps management was just limiting his ice time, or if he re-aggravated it.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Caps win 7-0.

The Caps rookie's beat the Flyer's rookie's 7-0 today. I haven't been able to watch the game yet, but I'll watch it later and post stats and what I thought.

9/18/08---Flyers@Caps--2:00 p.m.

Here's the line-up for tonite's rookie game against the Flyers. The game starts at 2:00 p.m. and the game will be at Kettler iceplex in Arlington, Virgina. The game is free to attend, but you need to have gotten tickets from the Caps webiste. The game sold-out 2 days after they went on sale. You can download the game later tonite from washingtoncaps.com.

Forwards
Bouchard-Perreault-Pinizzotto
Osala-Beagle-Kugryshev
Lacroix-Morin-Leffler
Taylor-Broda-Della Rovere


Defense
Alzner-Godfrey
Mestery-Carlson
Dovgan-Collins

Goalies
Varlamov
Neuvirth
Holtby

My predictions for the game? 3-2 Caps rookies, I think Della Rovere, Osala, and Godfrey will score goals today. I'll have an update after the game is over.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Camp rosters announced

Here's the rosters from the Caps website. It'll be good to have Gustafsson and Kugryshev both at rookie camp. I think that's a pretty good team that can compete with the Flyers rookie team.

Friday, September 12, 2008

And we have our first injury......Backstrom sprains ankle

Tarik's got the story here.

That's the 1 bad thing that can go wrong in these pre-training camp practices. Players could get hurt when it doesn't really matter. Hopefully Nicky B, can recover fast. Let's hope his ankle sprain isn't as bad as Semin's was to start last year.

Alex Ovechkin has arrived

Alex Ovechkin is at Kettler this morning practicing in the informal practices. This is great news. I'll post more when I know more.

Update: This is from Tarik's blog.

After watching Ovechkin for about 45 minutes, it was obvious that he worked hard on his conditioning over the summer. After talking to him, I got the impression that he worked on his English a bit too.

"We know we have a good team, but we have to play better than last year to be better. We have to keep going like the last month of last year. It's going to be a good year."



Thursday, September 11, 2008

Another update from informal pratices.

Michael Neuvirth, Eric Fehr, Jakub Cutta, Tomas Fleischman, and Jay Beagle all arrived at Kettler today and they are practicing. Also we have some number changes, Eric Fehr will be wearing #16 this year, he wore #16 when he played in the WHL, and Tomas Fleischman will be taking Fehr's old number 14. So make sure you don't get them confused.

Also Jeff Schultz said that he did a lot of weight training this summer and he says that he has bulked up to 228 lbs. That's 10 more pounds then last year. Remember Schultz is 6'6 so he still has some more room to get stronger.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Numbers at informal practices increase.

Brent Johnson, Jose Theodore, Karl Alzner, Brooks Laich, Boyd Gordon, Nicklas Backstrom, Donald Brashear, Shaone Morrisonn, David Steckel, John Erskine, Chris Clark, Matt Bradley, and Michael Nylander were all skating at Kettler yesterday. That's about half the team, they seem excited to get the season started.

Tarik has an update on Nylander.

Also Backstrom has apparently gotten a hair cut.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Las Vegas odds on winning the Stanley Cup


The odds can be found here. The Caps have, according to Las Vegas, an 18/1 chance to winning the Stanley Cup. That's the 10th highest in the NHL. If I was a betting man I'd put my money on the Caps! To bad I can't go to Las Vegas and put some money on the Caps.

Update on Pothier, and small Morrisonn interview.

Tarik has both of the stories, they can be found here, and here. Pothier talks about how he's feeling, and Morrisonn talks about the arbitration hearing that happened earlier this offseason.

Here's some of what Pothier had to say.

"I plateaued a bit over the summer. But now I can get my heart rate up and sustain that. I've done some weights, a bit of running - not a lot - just to see where I'm at. It's been progressing."

"It's such a vague thing - I can't even put a time on it. Right now I'm kind of out of shape. It's going to take some time to get in shape. Even if I was clear and free today, it would take me some time to get into shape."

Here's what Morrison had to say.

"It's our right as players, and if I had to do it again, I would," he said. "There's no hard feelings. They have the same rights. It's part of the business.This game is a business as well. I'm just glad to be back and that everything is settled."

#11 to join 5, 7, 32 in the rafters.

The Washington Capitals announced that they will retire Mike Gartner's #11 jersey number. The number will no longer be worn by a Washington Capital ever again. The ceremony will be held on December 28th against the Toronto Maple Leafs, who Gartner played part of his career with. Gartner will be remembered as a speedy, fast player who scored over 300 goals, and 700 points with the Washington Capitals.

Congratulations Mike!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Couple of links.

Here's an interview with Bruce Boudreau. Bruce talks about what he expects to be happening at training camp this year.

Here's an article on some of the Caps prospects. There's some qoutes from Mcphee in there. It's a good read.

Some more Ovechkin craziness.


And the last article on the 2004 draft. You should really read this one. That 04 draft was a big one for us. Ovechkin, Green, Schultz, Bourque, Lepisto. Lots of great players from that draft.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Mcphee interview

Tarik has another interview(that's why he gets paid), it can be found here.

*I asked McPhee about the Caps' salary cap situation - the spreadsheet I'm looking at has the team's 23-man roster a little less than $1 million over the ceiling of $56.7 million, and, yes, that's minus Brian Pothier's $2.5 million hit. McPhee, though, disagreed with my assertion that his team is over. But he also didn't want to elaborate in much detail, so it was tough to argue my point.

"Not necessarily," he said about being over the limit. "There are lots of ways to do it. It's so convoluted. We're going to be tight this year, but we'll be able to operate with the players we have. We're fine."


There's a lot of interesting stuff in there. Check it out.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Johnson and Theodore already in D.C.

I mentioned last week that Boyd Gordon was already in D.C. skating. Now goalie's Brent Johnson and Jose Theodore are skating and facing shots. Tarik's got the story's here, and here.

That is so great that they are skating and facing shots already. I think this shows that Theodore is committed to winning. They can't wait for the season to start!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

New ticket sales

Tarik's got an article on Washington Post about the ticket sales for the upcoming season. He talks about season tickets, and price increases. The article can be found here.


"The Capitals had one of the NHL's lowest season ticket bases at the start of last season, believed to be about 5,000, but that figure could double and move the team closer to the league's midpoint by opening night."


"Jim Van Stone
, the Capitals vice president of ticket sales, said yesterday that 3,800 new full season ticket plans have been sold since late February thanks to a renewed interest in the team and more aggressive sales and marketing strategies. He also said sales of partial plans are similarly brisk, while the renewal rate for existing season ticket holders is about 93 percent, the highest since Ted Leonsis purchased the team in 1999."

"I'd love to say we expected this, or planned this," Van Stone said. "We're amazed by the support."


I personally am thrilled that there are going to be more fans in the stands. Towards the end of last year it was amazing how loud the crowd was, and how the players reacted towards it. Hopefully the fans keep the "ROCK THE RED."

It might be a little harder to buy tickets now.

Ovechkin being Ovechkin

This is one of the funniest video's I have ever seen in my entire life. Ovechkin is crazy.




Is there another professional athlete that has a personality like his?

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Clark interview

Captain Chris Clark was on Washington Post live last night. Tarik has the interview on his blog, check it out.

I just want to say that he is ripped. He looks like he can bench 350+ pounds. I bet he's been lifting a lot of weights since he couldn't skate or play hockey for a long time. It's going to be good to have him back.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Ovechkin in Beijing.

Here's the story I mentioned earlier.

"Near the back, I came upon Alex Ovechkin sitting alone on a wall over a pond. The Russians brought the Washington Capitals winger and reigning NHL MVP here to help promote the Sochi Games.

"You all by yourself?" I asked.

"No, I'm with friends," he said, although they were nowhere in sight.

I told him I was from the Pittsburgh paper and had interviewed him several times.

"Pittsburgh?" Ovechkin said, lighting up a bit. "Tell [Sidney] Crosby hello."

"What about [Evgeni] Malkin?" I asked.

"Him, too."

He told me it was a seven-hour flight from home and he would be here two or three days.

"It's for Russia," he said."



Gordon already in D.C.

According to Tarik Boyd Gordon is back in D.C. training and getting ready for the season.

In the article Gordon talks about the playoffs, and the injury's he sustained in the playoffs. It's a good read check it out.

I think it's awesome that guys are already coming back into town. You can tell that they want it this year, you can tell they are hungry. Also Gordon will probably be competing with Steckel for the 4th line center's spot, so it's nice that Gordon is putting a lot of effort into this off-season.

Also, later today I've have an update on Ovechkin at the Olympics. So make sure you check make later.

Friday, August 8, 2008

8-8-08. Alex Ovechkin day.

So today is August 8th, 2008. I nominate today as Alex Ovechkin day. It's the day of 8's. 8-8-08.

Ovechkin is going to be celebrating Alex Ovechkin 8 day in Beijing, China. Ovie is at the Olympics supporting his fellow Russians.

"Alex Ovechkin may be still two years away from stepping on the ice in Vancouver at the 2010 Winter Olympics, but that doesn’t mean he can’t play cheerleader for his fellow Russian summer Olympians. Alex is doing his part in Beijing at the 2008 Summer Olympics by offering his services as an ambassador for Russian athletes participating at the games. Throughout the streets of Moscow Alex can be seen plastered on oversized billboards (image shown above) in support of the Russian Olympians. “Olympic athletes, You can do it. I believe in you. See you in Beijing. Alexander Ovechkin” the billboard says. In Beijing, Alex has hit the ground running, interacting and encouraging the athletes in their pursuit of a Gold medal."


Thursday, August 7, 2008

5 ways Matt Bradley would change the NHL

Check this out!

Bradley is so funny. You can tell he's a good guy, and you can tell that he's a good locker room presence. It's nice to have him signed for 3 years.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Caps sign David Steckel to contract extension.


So Steckel got signed to an extension today. He was under contract for this upcoming year(08-09), so he is now signed through the 09-10 season. I think this move shows how much confidence the Caps have in Steckel. He's only played 1 year in the NHL, so the Caps must have a lot of faith in him. He's expected to play 4th line center this year. If I was Boyd Gordon I'd be a little worried right now.

The numbers from the contract haven't been released yet, I'll let you know when they do release the numbers.

Edit-Steckel will make 725,000 this year.

http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=379427

You gotta love Steckel. He does it all, he even got into a fight this year.


Monday, August 4, 2008

Expectations.

As you can tell I've changed the blog some. I'm learning how to make it better, and I'm trying to show more Caps pride. I've added the picture at the top, and the "Weagle" logo as the background. I also changed the side bar. The side bar is now red, and has lots of extra feature's now.

The Summer is going by very slow, I don't think an off-season has every gone by so slow. Everybody is already signed and nothing needs done. Now we wait till camp starts. In the years past the summer's didn't take this long, but this summer is different. The team has great expectations this year, the fans know it, the players know it, and the coaches know it. But what exactly are the expectations or goals for this year. Coming into this past year the goal was to make the playoffs. The team did it, maybe not the way they planned but they still made it. So should that be the goal again this year?......No. This team was not satisfied with a 1st round exist from the playoffs. This team wants more then that, and the fans want more then that too.

Take a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 06-07 they made the playoffs with a very young, and inexperienced team. They were facing the Ottawa Senators, a much older team who had been in the playoffs before. Pittsburgh went down 3-1 in the series(sound familiar?). They ended up losing the series 4-1. They were knocked out the playoffs in the 1st round, they only played 5 games, but those 5 games went a long way. Coming into this years playoffs they were the #2 seed and they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup final. They didn't win the Cup, but they made it all the way to the finals. Those 5 games meant so much to that team.

Now back to the Caps. Coming into this years playoffs the Caps were a very young, and inexperienced team, just like Pittsburgh was 1 year ago. The Caps were up agaisnt the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that was much older and had been in the playoffs before, just like Ottawa 1 year ago. The Caps went down 3-1 in the series, just like Pittsburgh did, but the Caps didn't lose game 5. The Caps came back and took the series to OverTime in game 7. The Caps only played 7 playoff games this year. 2 more then Pittsburgh did 1 year ago. If Pittsburgh can make it to the Stanley Cup finals with 5 playoff games, then why can't the Caps win the Cup? Those extra 2 games will go a long way. I think the expecations this year are HUGE. The goal this year should be to win the Stanley Cup. Plain and simple, win it all.

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Cap hit numbers

These all the players under contract for next season.

Ovechkin- 9.538,462
Nylander- 4.875
Semin- 4.6
Fedorov- 4
Clark- 2.63
Kozlov- 2.5
Backstrom- 2.4
Laich- 2.06
Brashear- 1.2
Bradley- 1
Fehr- .735
Fleischman- .725
Gordon- .725
Steckel- .512
Laing- .475


Green- 5.25
Poti- 3.5
Pothier- 2.5-He’s on LTIR.
Morrisonn- 1.975
Alzner- 1.675
Jurcina- .881
Erskine- .537

Theodore- 4.5
Johnson- .812

Total number- 59.592

So that’s about 2.9 million over the cap, but Pothier is on LTIR, so they can exceed the cap by 2.5 million(pothier’s cap hit). So before the start of the season .4 million needs to be cut. Laing’s cap hit is .475 he’ll probably be sent to Hershey and the Caps will be .075 under the cap. I hope my math is right.


There’s more players who are under contract, like Giroux, but they are minor league players. I included Alzner because there is good chance he will make the team. Guys like Bouchard, Godfrey, and Varlamov are all under contract but they will most likely start the season in Hershey and they won’t count agaisnt the Cap. Also some of the players like Laing, and Erksine could end up in Hershey.

Morrisonn signed.

Defenceman Shaone Morrsionn was awarded a 1 year, 1.975 million dollar contract today at arbitration. He is signed and under contract for next season. It appears that the Caps roster is complete. I'll do a run down of all the cap numbers later.

I think the price is a tad bit to high, but I can live with it. Morrison is 25 years old, and scored 1 goal and had 9 assist last year. He was 3rd in Ice Time for defenceman.
"The salary arbitration case for Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn has been decided. The arbitrator has ruled that the 25-year-old blueliner will receive a one-year contract for $1.975 million for the upcoming 2008-09 NHL season."

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Training Camp date announced.

"The Washington Capitals’ 2008 training camp will open Saturday, Sept. 20, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. A group of the team’s young players and prospects will take part in rookie camp the week prior to the start of training camp, with those workouts beginning Sunday, Sept. 14. All on-ice sessions during rookie camp and training camp are open to the public and free of charge."

"Rookie camp will conclude with a game against the Philadelphia Flyers rookies on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 3 p.m. at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. The game will be free of charge but will require a ticket – the Capitals will announce details on obtaining tickets at a later date."

So training camp starts in 59 days, and rookie camp starts in 53 days. The season starts in 79 days.

http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=368902

Monday, July 21, 2008

Re-watch the playoff series against Philly.

The NHL network is showing the Caps playoff series against the Flyers this week. I know it will be diffulcult to watch, but the games in the series were great. If you don't have NHL network then, sorry.
Game 1-Monday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 2-Wednesday, 1:00 p.m.
Game 3-Wednesday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 4-Thursday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 5-Friday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 6-Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
Game 7-Sunday, 7:00 p.m.
Now the NHL network will be showing all the games twice, so if you miss it during the first showing don't worry, you still might be able to catch the game. The series was good, so make sure you watch it, and it will be cool to watch the fans "Rock the Red"


Semin interview

It's the middle of summer, and not that much news going on, so I'll share these interviews from an Ovechkin fansite.

He's some interesting notes from the Semin one.

Q. Was it a completely different Capitals team than now?
AS. When I came to Capitals the team was much stronger than now because there were practically all stars. Prior to that they lost in playoffs, in the quarterfinals, I think.They lost in shootouts or something, I don't remember exactly. Jagr, Bondra, Gonchar were playing.. There were a lot of famous players. But at the end of the season they all were traded. And the team was left with nothing. For two years until Ovechkin came, it was a scene of great stagnation. Now, yes, we are a young team, a good, fast team. Exactly what is needed for these times.

Q.Were you arguably better at the world championship than when played for Capitals?
As. At first my season started as a failure. I was injured. I didn't play for 2.5 months. And then everything went on. When there were 15 games left before the playoffs, I started to get in shape. And the worlds were later. I peaked. And it all got together

Q.Who is number one in the NHL?At the moment?
AS. I'd select Pasha Datsyuk. This is a player I like for a very long time. He has the best hands.

Q.In addition to Washington Capitals, is there any NHL team you wouldn't mind to leave to?
AS. The same Detroit, for example?I am not a fan of changing the environment. I am such a person that I am satisfied with everything in Washington. Never thought about leaving. And how to leave? You decided to play for another team and you leave? There is no such thing in NHL. If they trade you, they won't ask where you want to.

Q.Do you have a lady in your heart?
AS. I don't.

Q. You are an enviable bachelor, rich, handsom, young, with the future.
AS. So far I have not met anyone.

Q. You said before that you were renting a house in Washington.
AS. Now I got the house. I bought it this year. A lot easier now

Q. How many floors?
AS. Three.

Q. Are you satisfied with the land?
AS. Over there the house prices depend on the size of the land.It depends also on location, in what part of the town. I live next to the training arena. 15 minutes away. I am happy with everything.

Q. And who is Capitals champion in poker?
AS. Backstrom is pretty good. But its different all the time. Once one guy will win, then another guy, then another.

Q. Do you have a bodyguard on ice?
AS. Brashear is managing it. But he is not my bodyguard, he is everyone's.

Q. Who was your idol?
AS. Pavel Bure. I was 10 years old, I'd get up early on Saturday morning, watched NHL games. Back then they showed those games from over the ocean in the mornings. My Dad would wake me up. I enjoyed watching how he played.


The rest of the interview can be found here. It's long, but really good and funny. There's still some great stuff in the interview.




Sunday, July 20, 2008

Ovechkin and the captaincy.

With the recent announcement about Jonathan Toews being named captain of the Chicago Blackhawks, the talks of when Ovechkin will get the "C" have started back up again. Naming young "star" players captain seems to be the trend around the league now-a-days. Crosby was named captain of Pittsburgh 2 years ago and now Toews with Chicago. I don't have a problem with teams naming young players captain, but that player must me the leader in the locker room. Guys must look up to that player in the locker room, and I think Crosby and Toews are the leaders of their teams so it's ok.

It's a different case with Ovechkin. Yes Ovechkin is a leader in the locker room, but he's not "the" leader, at least not yet. I think everybody knows the story of how Ovechkin was offered the captaincy after his rookie year and he turned it down beause he didn't think he was ready. I agreed with him, and I thought that it shows that he's a mature kid, and he knows what's best for the team. So these past couple of years, Chris Clark and Olaf Kolzig have been "the" main leaders on the team. That's why Clark got the "C" the past 2 years. Kolzig has moved on and is now in Tampa Bay. The Caps also resigned Sergei Fedorov and he'll be one of "the" leaders in the locker room. Ovechkin will get an "A" this year, just like he's had the past couple of years, and I think that's perfect for him. There's no need to rush him into the captaincy role. He's going to be in Washington for the rest of carrer. His time will come, let him improve his english, and get more playoff experience, and then he'll be ready.

I know a lot of the fans want Ovechkin to be the captain because he's the best player on the team, and he's making hockey a bigger sport in D.C. but doing that stuff doesn't make you a captain. You have to earn the captaincy in the locker room.

My predictions for the C's and A's this year.

Clark-"C"
Fedorov-"A"
Ovechkin-"A"

If Clark is still hurt, then you go with 3 A's.

Fedorov-"A"
Ovechkin-"A"
Poti/Brashear-"A"

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Update of the offseason

Ok. I'm going to be doing a big update of everything that has happened this offseason.

May 22-Karl Alzner signs entry level deal-3 years, cap hit of 1.675 million per year.



May 27-Matt Bradley resigns-3 years, 1 million per year.

Quote from Bradley

"I wanted to stay here, obviously," he said on the phone this afternoon. "We had to come together on money, but the three-year part was a big key for me. I wanted -- not security -- but to know where I was going to be. There's never security in hockey. You always have to play like it's your last game, but it's nice to know where you're going to be for a while."

What I think of the signing-I'm glad Bradley is coming back. He's a heart and soul type player. He's great in the locker room, and he has valuable leadership quality's. He's a demon on the forecheck and fits in with Boudreua's system.
Bradley's stats last year- 7 goals, 11 assist, 18 points, 74 PIMS, and 5th on the team with 126 hits.
June 20-Caps trade Steve Eminger, and 84th overall pick(Jacob Deserres) to the Flyers for the 27th overall pick, the Caps then choose defenceman John Carlson.
Quote from Eminger.
"It didn't hurt that the Flyers were the last team I played against," he said. "If there was one team I wanted to go to, that's it. It's hard to leave the friends that I've made in Washington. But hockey-wise, I needed a new start. And Philadelphia is the perfect place for it."

What I think of the trade- I think that we won this trade. Mcphee turned a #8 d-man into a first round pick. Carlson is a big, strong and tough D-man. He's a right-shot which is important.
July 1-Mike Green resigns-4 years, 5.25 million per year.

Quote from Green's agent.

"It took a long time, but this puts him in a position where he's competitive with many of his peers who are signing similar deals," said Don Meehan, one of Green's representatives. "He's in the same class as Jeff Carter, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, he's in a class like those people."

"There was some discussion of a longer term deal, but we didn't get to numbers that we felt would be relevant for him," Meehan added. "I think by doing a four year deal, it's in the best interest of both sides. In four years, we'll all have a better perspective of what we should be doing on a longer term deal."

What I think of the signing-I like that the deal is 4 years. When the contract ends Green will still be a RFA, so if he does decided to sing with someone else 4 years from now we will get compensation which is up to 4 draft picks. The money is a bit high, but it's what we had to do to keep Green.

Green's stats last year- Lead the league in goals for defenceman with 18 goals, 38 assist, and 3rd on the team with 56 points. Also lead the team in Time on ice, with 23:38 minutes per game.
July 1-Jose Theodore signs with the Caps-2 years, 4.5 million per year.
Quote from Theodore.
"I struggled but I feel like I have my game back on," he said. "It was two things: confidence, obviously, and just working really hard, I think. Sometimes There were a couple distractions on and off the ice, and from there you loose confidence a little bit. But when you reach the lows in your career and you bounce back up it makes you a better person and a better players. My confidence is as good as it's ever been, so I know I can play at a high level for a long, long time. "

What I think of the signing-Obviously the Caps would have liked to have kept Cristobal Huet, but Huet left for more money. Back to Theodore, I think the signing is great, 2 years is perfect. 4.5 million is less then what we were going to give Huet, so we saved some money.

Theodore's stats last year- 28-21-3 record, with 3 shut-outs, 2.44 GAA, and a .910 save percentage.
July 3-Keith Aucoin signs with the Caps-2 years, .4875 million(487,500) per year. Two-way deal.
What I think of the signing-Aucoin is just a depth signing. He'll end up playing in Hershey(AHL) next year. He's a really talented player in the AHL but he's not big enough to make it in the NHL. The only way he'll play with the Caps this year is if there are injury's. I like the signing because it's going to make Hershey a whole lot better.

Aucoin's stats last year- 5 goals, 8 assist, 13 points in 38 games. He also had 45 points in 38 games in the AHL.
July 9-Brooks Laich resigns-3 years, 2.067 million per year

Quote from Laich's agent.

"Well, everyone always wants more money. It is a fair deal and it is within Brooks' market value. There is some term there so there is some certainty for Brooks going forward. He is happy to get the deal done because he sees the team as an exciting, up-and-coming team and wants to be a part of it."

What I think of the signing-I like Laich a lot, but the price is a bit high for him, but I expect him to get better. I don't think he's reached his full potential yet. I think he can score more and put up more points. I like the 3 years part, but it's a little risky because we also gave Matt Pettinger a 3 year contract after he scored 20 goals, and that didn't turn out well.

Laich's stats last year- 21 goals, 16 assist, 37 points, 3rd on the team in PP goals with 8 goals. He also lead the team in short-handed goals, he had 2.
July 10-Eric Fehr resigns-1 year .735 million(735,000) per year
Fehr's stats last year- 1 goal, 5 assist, 6 points in 23 games
July 11-Boyd Gordon resigns-1 year .725 million(725,000) per year
Gordon's stats last year- 7 goals, 9 assist, 16 points, in 67 games
July 14-Sergei Fedorov resigns-1 year, 4 million per year

We are happy to have Sergei back,” said vice president and general manager George McPhee. “What he brings to the club extends beyond the rink. He is a leader and a player that everyone on our team wanted back. We look forward to him helping us compete this upcoming season.”

What I think of the signing-I like that Fedorov is returning. I think that he is going to have a huge impact of this team for many, many years after he's gone. He's going to influence all the young players. Everybody is going to learn from him, and he's a good person to learn from. The 4 million dollars is a little to much, but we really needed Fedorov to return.

Fedorov's stats last year- 11 goals, 30 assist, 41 points in 68 games. In the 18 games with the Caps last year Fedorov had 2 goals and 11 assist.

That's everybody we've signed this offseason so far. Defenceman Shaone Morrisonn filed for arbitration, so he will be resigned to a one-year contract. His arbitration date is set for July 24th.

Also the Caps had 3 UFA's who signed with other teams. Huet, Kolzig and Cooke. He's what they signed for.

Huet- 4 years, 5.6 million per year signed with Chicago. I know most of you have heard the story before about how we offered Huet the money he wanted but decided to sign with Chicago for more money.

Kolzig- 1 year, 1.5 million per year, with a cap hit of 2.5 million because of bonuses. Signed with Tampa. Olie still wants to play hockey, and he has a chance to be the starter, but he'll probably back-up Mike Smith.

Cooke- 3 years, 1.2 million per year. Signed with Pittsburgh. I think we could have keep Cooke at that price, but we wouldn't have been able to keep Bradley then. Mcphee thought Bradley fit in with the team better.
So that's everything that has happened this offseason. I hope I didn't leave anything out.
Tomorrow I'm going to run some numbers and give you guys the cap hit for everybody and figure out how much cap space is left.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Full 2008-2009 schedule

We have two 5 game road trips, and we end the season 3 straight on the road but we also have a stretch were we play 9 out of 10 at home.

There are a couple of stretch's were we play a lot on the road, but the 9 home games in 10 games will make up for that. The 2008-09 schedule features just 13 sets of back-to-back games, the fewest the team has had in a number of years. After their final pair of back-to-back games on Mar. 16-17, the Caps will close out the season with a leisurely pace of 10 games in 25 days. Contrast that to the stretch in late November and early December in which Washington will play 14 times in 24 days.

Interesting games. November 10th-Olie comes back home. December 20th-1st time facing Flyers. January 31st-Face Detroit

Also he's a explanation of how the new schedule will work this year:

"The NHL tweaked the overall schedule this year so teams would play their divisional rivals only six times instead of eight, which had been customary the past three seasons. In doing so, every team in the league will play one another this year and teams will also play three non-conference opponents at home and on the road. Washington's three non-conference opponents that they will play twice are Columbus, Los Angeles and Nashville."

http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app?page=TeamSchedule&service=page

Remember to "ROCK THE RED"

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Caps host Chicago in home opener




"The Capitals will raise their 2007-08 Southeast Division championship banner prior to their home opener."
"Chicago signed Cristobal Huet, who will return to Verizon Center after helping backstop the Capitals to a Southeast Division title last season."

This is going to be fun. Raising the banner and "Rocking the Red" will be awesome. Huet will be scared. His first game in a Chicago jersey is going to be agaisnt us, in our arena. The atmosphere is going to be crazy. Look out Huet.
Remember, "ROCK THE RED"

Monday, July 14, 2008

Pre-season schedule announced


Date Opponent Time


Wed. Sept. 24 at Carolina 7 p.m.


Thurs., Sept. 25 vs. Carolina 7 p.m.


Sat., Sept. 27 at Boston 4 p.m.


Mon., Sept. 29 at New Jersey 7 p.m.


Wed., Oct. 1 at Philadelphia 7 p.m.


Fri., Oct. 3 vs. Philadelphia 7 p.m.


Sun., Oct. 5 vs. Boston 5 p.m.



So we face Philly twice and Carolina twice. Last year agaisnt Philly Semin hurt his ankle because Dennis Gauthier pushed him onto the back of the net. We need to rest all our starters agaisnt Philly because they are dirty.

Fedorov re-signs


It's offical now. Sergei Fedorov has re-signed with the Washington Capitals. 1 year 4 million per year.




I don't mind the signing. It's only 1 year, and we'll still be able to re-sign everybody so It's all good. Feds brought a lot to this team, more than any of us know. He's going to have a big impact on Semin.


Also, Sorry for not updating the blog during the busy July 1 day. I've been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and didn't have time to update.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Washington Capitals 2008 NHL entry draft

Round 1/21

Anton Gustafsson, C (Frolunda Jr, Swe)


GP:33 G:15 A:17 Pts:32 PIMS: 55




My thoughts on Gustafsson:I really like this pick. Anton is the son of Caps legend Bengt Gustafsson. Bengt had 555 carrer points in 629 carrer games as a Washington Capital. Bengt has said that Anton is a bigger, faster, more skilled version of himself. That's pretty impresive. Anton suffered from injury problems this year in Sweden's junior league. He had a serious back injury. The Caps medical staff has said he'll be good to go. Anton likes to play a physical game, he doesn't back down from people and sometimes he likes to hit more then score. I think he'll fit perfect on an line with Alex Semin in the future.




Road to the NHL-Gustafsson is returing to Sweden to play 1 season in Sweden's 2nd tier league. After that he'll play in Sweden's top league, SEL. Then he'll come to North America. He might spend some time in Hershey. He's about 3 away from the NHL.




NHL comparable-Mike Fisher, or Jordan Staal




Round 1/27

John Carlson, D (Indiana, USHL)

GP:59 G:12 A:31 Pts:43 PIMS: 72 +11




My thoughts on Carlson-I really like this pick too! Carlson is a big, tough, physical defenceman who has offensive upside. His numbers in the USHL were impressive this year. The USHL isn't a top junior league but Carlson is headed to the London Knights in the OHL next year. Carlson is a right-handed d-man and those are kinda rare. The Caps are thin on RD so this pick makes a lot of sense.




Road to the NHL-Carlson is going to be playing in the OHL next year. He'll be playing for the London Knights. Caps legend Dale Hunter coaches the London Knights. Expect Carlson to play 1-2 years in London and then in the AHL for 1-2 years. He's about 3 years away from the NHL.




NHL comparable-Barret Jackman


Round 2/57
Eric Mestery, D (Tri-City, WHL)
GP: 71 G:2 A:14 Pts:16 PIMS:65 +9

My thoughts on Mestery-Mestery was kinda of a suprise pick, I didn't think the Caps would pick a player like him. He's a big and mobile defenceman who doesn't bring much offence or phycial play to the table. He's always in the right position defensivley, and he can skate the puck out of trouble. I'm not really to excited about this pick, but Mcphee is a pretty smart man.

Road to the NHL-Mestery will head back to the WHL next year. He'll probably spend 2-3 years in junior, and then 1-3 years in the AHL. He's about 3-5 years away from the NHL.

NHL comparable-Shaone Morrisonn, Jeff Schultz.



Round 2/58
Dmitri Kugryshev, RW (CSKA Moscow, Rus 3)
GP:35 G:29 A:29 Pts:58 PIMS: 16

My thoughts on Kugryshev-I think this kid could be the steal of the draft. Kugryshev scored at an impressive rate in Russia's 3rd league. He played on a team with #6 overall pick Nikita Filatov, Filatov outscored Kurgryshev by only 6 points. So Filatov didn't blow him out the water. Kugryshev has good hands, and is willing to go into the corners and fight for the puck. He can be physical at times, and he works hard. The only thing that concerns me is that he doesn't have amazing top speed.

Road to the NHL-Kugryshev was just draft by the Quebec Ramparts in the CHL import draft. He doesn't have to play for the Ramparts but reports are that he will come over to North America and play in the QMJHL. He'll probably spend 2 years in junior and then maybe a year in Hershey. He's about 2-3 years away from the NHL.

NHL comparable-Chris Kunitz

Round 4/93
Braden Holtby, G (Saskatoon, WHL)
25W - 29L - 2TO - 1SO
GAA: 2.84 SV% .908

My thougths on Holtby-This could be another steal! Holtby is the victim of playing on a terrible team last year. The team infront of him was very young. Holtby keep them in all the games. He had impressive numbers, and he faced the 2nd most shots agaisnt in the WHL. He's a work house. He started 61 games last year. Holtby is very athletic and has very powerfull legs. Sometimes his powerfull legs put him out of position because he slides across the crease to far.

Road to the NHL-Holtby will head back to the WHL this year. He's playing on a horrible team so I'm sure he wants to get out of there fast, but goalie's take longer to develop. He'll spend 2 years in junior and then spend 2-4 years in the AHL. He's about 4-6 years away from the NHL. Remember that goalie's take longer to develop.

NHL comparable-Patrick Lalime


Round 5/144
Joel Broda, C (Moose Jaw, WHL)
GP:73 G:30 A:23 Pts:53 PIMS:74 -1

My thoughts on Broda-He's not going to be a top 6 forward. He'll end up being a 3rd line guy. He's got some skill and he works really hard. He has great work ethic and he's a great leader. He sticks up for his teammates, he had 6 fights last year in the WHL.

Road to the NHL-Broda will head back to the WHL next year. He'll spend 2 years in junior, and then 1-2 years in the ECHL, and then 1-2 years in the AHL. He's about 4-6 years away. As we get later in the draft guys will take longer to make the NHL.

NHL comparable-Smaller Brandon Dubinsky

Round 6/174
Greg Burke, LW (NH Monarchs, EJHL)
GP:40 G:21 A:25 Pts:46 PIMS:46

My thoughts on Burke-I don't really know much about this kid. Nobody knows much about him. He played in a lower-level junior league last year, and he'll play in the USHL next year and then he'll play at UMass. He's got good size and good hands, I don't know much about him.

Road to the NHL-Burke is going to have a long road to the NHL. He'll spend 1 year in the USHL. Then he'll spend 4 years in college, and then he'll probably spend 1-2 years in the ECHL, then 2-3 years in the AHL. He's about 6-7 years away.

NHL comparable-lesser skilled Viktor Kozlov


Round 7/204
Stefan Della Rovere, LW (Barrie, OHL)
GP:68 G:13 A:19 Pts:32 PIMS:171 -14

My thoughts on Della Rovere-I love this kid. He's a good old fashion fighter. He's got some skill but he's mainly a fighter. He loves to throw the lefts, and late. He's got enough skill to get him to the NHL. He's kinda a small guy, but he'll challenge anybody and he's a great leader and teammate. He's probably going to be the captain for his junior team next year.

Road to the NHL-He'll head back to the OHL, and he'll spend another 2 year there, then he'll play in the AHL for 2-3 year. He's about 4-5 years away from the NHL.

NHL comparable-Matt Bradley






*NOTE* The road to the NHL is a prediction my me. Players could take shorter or longer to make in to the NHL. I'm not talking about 1-2 games in the NHL, I'm talking about full-time NHL players.